At one time, you would have to use mechanics and professionals to provide you with a valuation for your car. However, today there are several other options, which allow you to have your car valued before you part with any money. You can easily log on to a car dealership websites such as Honda UK a free car valuation site.

You will be able to save time and effort by using the services of these professional car dealerships and enjoy the valuations that they provide. Since everything is practically automated in this day and age, people can also feel the benefit of scheduling software from companies like Xtime so that they can schedule when their valuation is and any follow-up essentials provided. There is a lot dealerships can do nowadays. There are numerous people that may offer to help, but you need to ensure that you choose professionals, who are not going to lie about the valuation. Unfortunately, cars remain one of the most difficult areas when it comes to honesty and valuations.

In the past, you may have had to pay someone to attend your home, and value your car before you put it up for sale. This would have taken time, and often a fee, however, today; there are many fantastic sites available for car valuations, including Honda UK. Asking the top dealers for help will ensure that you receive an honest valuation of your car, especially as they often have moved onto good software solutions (such as https://us.dealertrack.com/content/dealertrack/en/dealer-management-solutions.html, to name one example) to help them keep on top of demand and supply.

Alongside the car valuation, you will discover that these websites provide excellent help and advice which may assist you in selling your car faster. Both buyers and sellers will benefit from these sites, and you will be confident that you can sell your car for the price that you want. The websites are easy to navigate, and ensure that you receive the valuation in no time at all.

You will need to be realistic regarding the valuation of the car, and understand that if your car has low mileage, or is in a poor condition it might not fetch you the desired amount. However, if the car has any unique features and is in excellent condition, you may be surprised at the valuation. Every element will need to be considered and you need to ensure that you understand how cars are valued. If interested, you can also reach out to reliable professionals who tend to make use of dealer CRM software. With the data available, they can personalize insights that could prove beneficial for your decision-making.

Using one of the independent websites for your valuation is beneficial, as they receive no financial gain for the service. You can easily log onto Honda UK, and search for your vehicle, before you place it on the market. As long as you have all the necessary details, the valuation is straightforward, and allows you to calculate if it is worth putting on the market.

The value of cars fluctuates a huge amount, and you may be surprised how much your car is worth, but with the information at hand you can make clear decisions. You may decide that selling the car is not worth the money, and that you keep it for the time being. Without the valuation of your car, you would never know what decision to make in the future.

As long as you are realistic, you will be able to sell your car release the money for other things, such as another car, or household bills. Regardless of what you use the money for, you will know that you received the best price, and an excellent valuation.

When you get into those tight months and need extra money to make ends meet, where do you turn?  Currently, 90% of people will likely turn to a payday loan.  But is this the best move with the state of the economy?  And if there is no other choice, what are the hazards to avoid in the process?

Hazard 1: poor financial planning

Most Payday loans are made on the understanding that even though you get the money now, you must pay it back with interest from your next paycheck, whether that paycheck is in a week or a month. Most people when applying for these loans tend to forget that this must be figured in.  The interest needs to be paid back when your paycheck comes in, along with the amount you owe.  When you are planning out what you need, remember you need to live the next month on the remainder so try not to borrow too much.

Hazard 2: the interest that is accumulated

The interest owed is often the next issue people tend to forget about.  A lot of payday loans have a way of charging people exorbitant interest rates, some times as high as 2000% APR.  This simplified means for the $100 you borrow, the first month you will owe say $30 extra for the first month. That’s not bad and is a simple case of only 30% interest.  But let’s say for arguments sake you forget to pay for three months. Now aside from the calls about where’s our money and the check you likely left in good faith bouncing, the money you now owe has extra interest on it, bringing the total to $172.33 for three months of nonpayment. This doesn’t include the issues at your bank, which will increase the amount again; this is a giant increase in your initial loan. This is a good reason to pay it all as soon as possible since the cost of continued interest is dangerously expensive.

Hazard 3: the stores/websites themselves

In some instances, the stores themselves will not be reputable businesses. There is a growing trend of payday loan stores cropping up, then closing down shortly afterward. This can cause issues in repaying your loan, whereby you will still owe even if the business you got the loan from no longer exists. The best way to avoid this hazard is to look around and shop the available stores, first finding one that has long term and happy customers. There are still many reputable Payday Loans services out there.

Hazard 4: temptation to borrow too much

Don’t fall for the urge to take out extra money to pay for that special night out or for a spending spree. Payday loans, as we have seen, are far too expensive in the long run to use for funding this kind of frivolous spending. You will soon come to regret this kind of financing, when faced with paying those extra charges from your bank balance next month.

So remember, if you really NEED a pay day loan and no other option remains open to you, do your planning and research ahead of time; pay off your loan in a timely manner and above all don’t borrow more than you absolutely have to.

A power of attorney is a legal document that allows someone to make decisions on your behalf in the event that you should lack the mental capacity to do so or be unavailable for a period of time. When you make a power of attorney you are known as a donor and the person you appoint to act on your behalf is known as the attorney.

It may seem depressing to think about the possibility of accident, disability or terminal illness when you’re fit as a fiddle, but if something should happen to you, who would manage your affairs? Without a power of attorney, your loved ones could find themselves facing legal wrangles and mountainous expenses, which is why it’s worth preparing for the unexpected.

In order to make a power of attorney, you must be of sound mind and in a position to make decisions for yourself.

There are different types of power of attorney:

Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) – A lasting power of attorney is used if you become permanently unable to handle your own affairs. It is the only way to give another individual the legal authority to make financial, health, or welfare decisions on your behalf. This type of document must be registered with the Office of the Public Guardian.

Property and Financial Affairs LPA – You appoint someone to make decisions about how to spend your money and how your property and financial affairs are managed.

Health and Welfare LPA – You choose someone to make decisions about your welfare and healthcare, including where you live, how you are looked after and what treatment you receive.

General Power of Attorney (GPA) – General power of attorney is used when you need someone to act on your behalf temporarily, perhaps if you are overseas. Your attorney can make decisions about your property and affairs but not your personal welfare. Unlike the LPA, it becomes invalid if you become mentally incapable and it does not have to be registered.

Seek advice from a trained expert, who will guide you through the process. Co-Op Legal Services will provide you with a dedicated case handler to assist with every element, from application to completion of the power of attorney document.

When choosing an attorney, it’s important to choose someone who is 100 per cent trustworthy and willing and capable of doing the things stated in the power of attorney document. They should be keenly aware of your wishes and up to speed on your money and medical issues. Bear in mind that this person will be entrusted with your property, home and finances. It is a good idea for your attorney to keep a record of what they do on your behalf. They will have a lot of freedom to make decisions for you, but must not gain anything for their own personal benefit.

You can cancel your power of attorney at any stage. After you die, your power of attorney becomes invalid and the legal authority of your attorney to manage your individual assets comes to an end.

A power of attorney is like an insurance policy – hopefully you’ll never need it, but it’s there to protect you and might just be worth having one day.

Old clothes may seem like they are just taking up much needed space, but inside piles of garments could hide a hidden treasure trove of valuable goods. Last year’s, even sometimes the previous decade’s fashions may hang sadly in the wardrobe. However, with a few clues these forgotten garments could work for you and still brighten up your day. The good news is that no matter how you feel about that tired selection of clothes, whether they were unwanted gifts or the flight of fancy from yesteryear, each one has the potential to pay you back. Simply throwing them away would be a mistake.

Valuing Clothes

Each year, a shocking £140 million worth of unwanted clothing is dumped in landfill sites across the UK. It’s estimated that the typical British household owns clothes worth a surprising £4,000, yet 30% of these are never worn. That means most homes are sitting on a pile of old clothes they paid £1,200 for, yet they no longer make any use of. On the other hand, surveys show that, while householders spend about £1,700 each on new clothes peryear, two-thirds of people are willing to buy second-hand clothes. All that’s needed is a way to unlock the cash each item is worth.

Saving Textiles

The nation as a whole would benefit from increased re-use of unwanted clothes. In a UK retail industry worth £44 billion per-year (about five-percent of total consumer spending every year), if the length of time clothes were used by households was extended by an average of nine-months, £5 billion would be saved from the cost of materials used in clothing manufacture. This means less resources would be used to produce new clothes, which is good for the environment.

Making Cash

So how does this all affect the average person? The key is to learn how to learn how to sell clothes for cash.  musicMagpie requires no membership fee, is simple to use and has stores located across Britain easily accessible to most people. A simple quote system will let you know how much your clothes are worth before you box them up to take in exchange for payment. People living in rural or remote locations can make use of the free courier service, which is fully insured for added peace of mind.

If you normally give your old clothes to the charity shop there is an option to give the payment to the charity of your choice. Alternatively, you could put it towards a fresh outfit, something for a big night out or regular day wear. Whether this is second-hand or totally new is a choice only you can make!

We all pretty much rely on computers to get things done these days, especially when it comes to business. While this has obviously increased the ease with which we do nearly everything, a lot of the software can come at a cost. Services provided by some companies can be costly but quality often comes at a price. If you believe iseries outsourcing could be of use to your business, it might be worth research this in greater detail. Fortunately, there are armies of people out there who spend their time making and creating free programs and software alternatives to help save people money. Software for your business is an important addition and must not be taken lightly. With companies like Mirantis who are able to provide support for deploying software applications, you will need to be assured that you are utilizing the right ones for your business for your day-to-day requirements. Here a few examples of free business software to get you off on the right foot.

Libre Office

Microsoft Office the go-to for most people when it comes to installing a suite of software for things like text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. In fact, it’s nearly instinct for some to go for that. The problem is, that it can be very expensive, but what else can you do? Everyone else seems to use it and you don’t want to have to deal with compatibility issues with your clients.

Well, out there on the internet, there is a whole suite of products that do everything Microsoft Office can do including all the same formats and it’s completely free. It’s called LibreOffice. The whole setup is so similar to Microsoft Office, that you don’t even need to really worry about re-training to use it. The interface is intuitive and it’ll just take a little getting used to before you won’t even notice the difference.

Mention

Marketing is obviously a big part of running a company. A lot of time has to spent getting your name out and about so you can increase your profits. The problem is though, how do you keep track of everything? It’s always good to know who is mentioning your company online and where. This gives you a chance to collate good and bad comments. It is great for being able to respond to criticism on forums and send thankful messages to those who support you. It also means you can keep on top of press attention.

Mention does just that. You simply enter a term and Mention will scan the internet for you and notify you when it pops up somewhere. This applies for social networks as well, so if someone is bad mouthing you on Twitter without tweeting it at you, you can still respond. This is something you can do yourself, but it is time consuming. Mention will collate everything for you so you can go through it all logically. It’s a great tool.

TweetDeck

Twitter is hugely important nowadays for your business. Whether it’s for advertising a new product or answering enquiries, it is foolish for companies not to have a Twitter account. TweetDeck is an in-browser piece of software that allows you to keep track of everything that’s going in. You can create columns that automatically refresh things like the tweets of who you follow, hashtags, messages to your accounts and pretty much everything else you want. It keeps everything together and looks pretty neat too. Much easier than using the actual Twitter website.

 

Joshua Danton Boyd is a copywriter for the accountants and RTI specialists, Crunch Accounting.